In 1963, John Laing and Son Ltd bought the rights to the Danish industrialised building system known as Jespersen (sometimes referred to as Jesperson). The company built factories in Scotland, Hampshire and Lancashire producing Jespersen prefabricated parts and precast concrete panels, allowing the building of housing to be rationalised, saving time and money. The 12M Jespersen building system was first used in Britain when four prototype flats were erected by Laing for the County Borough of Oldham in 1964. These were later followed by the St Mary's Estate on which 500 dwellings were built, comprising of low rise flats and modern terraced houses, replacing the earlier slums which had occupied the area. The 12M Jespersen flats on the housing estate were later demolished in 2007 with only the houses left standing. This photograph was published in July 1967 in Laing's monthly newsletter 'Team Spirit', beneath it, the estate was described as a sloping site which lends itself to attractive landscaping.
This image was catalogued as part of the Breaking New Ground Project in partnership with the John Laing Charitable Trust in 2019-20.
This is part of the Volume: JLP01/01/156 Jespersen Factories and Housing and Sectra Multi-Storey Flats; within the Series: JLP01/01 John Laing Photographic Collection Project Albums; within the Collection: JLP01 John Laing Photographic Collection
© Historic England Archive. John Laing Photographic Collection
Mid 20th Century Housing Estate, Mid 20th Century Flats
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